In addition to giving historical examples of decentralized organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and the Apaches and analyzing their nature in contrast to centralized organizations, the book considers conflict between centralized and decentralized organizations, including the "If you can't beat them, join them" solution of creating hybrid organizations such as Citizendium.[citation needed] A chapter towards the end of the book explores the concept of the "sweet spot", the optimal mix of decentralized and centralized attributes.

Contents

The book identifies a set of people the authors call "catalysts", who tend to be skilled at creating decentralized organizations. The authors list several abilities and behaviors (called "The Catalyst's Tools") that "catalysts" have in common, including:

Genuine interest in others.

Numerous loose connections, rather than a small number of close connections.

Skill at social mapping.

Desire to help everyone they meet.

The ability to help people help themselves by listening and understanding, rather than giving advice ("Meet people where they are").

A hands-off approach. Catalysts do not interfere with, or try to control the behavior of the contributing members of the decentralized organization.

Ability to let go. After building up a decentralized organization, catalysts move on, rather than trying to take control.

This book has some similarities to books like The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell, as both identify certain sets of people who are important to change in a society or an organization, and try to define the attributes that people belonging to these sets have in common. The theoretical base draws richly from complexity writers in management, such as Ralph Stacey, Margaret Wheatley, Dee Hock, Doug Griffin, Patricia Shaw, John Holland, and Robert Axelrod, among others. The book provides an original and accessible way to see these principles in action.

"A leader is best when people barely know that he exists; not so good when people obey and acclaim him; worst when they despise him." (p115) (Lao-tzu)

"As a catalyst, it's all about letting go and trusting the community." (p111)

Network effect - every additional person makes the organization stronger. In contrast to adding devices to a network, members can be added to decentralized organizations with little cost.

Power of chaos.- Decentralized "Starfish systems" accept chaos better than centralized organizations and thrive because of it.

Knowledge at the edge - information about the organization is open to everybody.

Everyone wants to contribute - members of a decentralized organization are more self-motivated.

Beware the hydra response.- Using the Lernaean Hydra as an analogy, attacking the top of a decentralized organization can actually make it stronger.

Catalysts rule.-- In contrast to a centralized organization with a CEO as a leader, "Catalysts are important because... they inspire people to action."

The Values Are the Organization- The authors argue that an ideology is more important to decentralized organizations.

Measure, monitor, and manage. Despite being chaotic, decentralized organizations can still be measured.

Flatten or be flattened.- To oppose a decentralized organization, organizations may have to become more decentralized. The authors describe a "sweet spot" for organizations with a balance between centralization and decentralization.